Books from Our Faculty: Helga Tawil-Souri’s Gaza as Metphor

Gaza as Metaphor (Hurst Publishers, 2016) demonstrates the realities of life within Gaza through a collection of essays by journalists, writers, doctors, academics, and others.

Edited byHelga Tawil-Souri, associate professor of media, culture, and communication at NYU Steinhardt,and University of London’s Dina Matar, the volume contextualizes how the current situation in Gaza is an outcome of specific historical and spatial practices and not simply a far-away humanitarian disaster or place of incomprehensible violence. Gaza as Metaphor demonstrates that Gaza is a vibrant – if also agonized – place and an inseparable part of the past, present, and future condition of Palestinians.

Renowned linguist Noam Chomsky wrote of the book: “With sympathy and deep understanding, these essays reveal the terror and sheer savagery to which the people of Gaza are subjected daily and their brave refusal to succumb to despair and hopelessness. A searing rendition of grim tragedy, and a powerful call to action.”